A five-judge panel for the Ontario Court of Appeal Friday extended stay of a lower court decision striking down laws banning prostitution-related activities, leaving the activities illegal pending ruling of the court. The panel extended the stay , which was already extended last December, just before the proceedings in the Court of Appeal ended Friday, [...]
Federal prosecutors in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dropped all charges against al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in a filing made Friday. The judge approved the procedural move, which is typical upon the death of a defendant. The nolle prosequi motion listed the hundreds of charges against Bin [...]
The Illinois Appellate Court on Friday ordered a circuit court to determine whether a law requiring a girl’s guardians to be notified before she has an abortion should be enforced. The Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 , which has never been enforced , mandates that doctors notify the guardians of girls younger than [...]
The International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted a new convention at its annual conference in Geneva Thursday to protect domestic workers’ labor rights. The 100 Session of the International Labor Conference came to a close Friday. The convention sets standards for domestic workers in line with basic labor rights as those for other workers, including reasonable [...]
Amnesty International urged China on Friday to withdraw an invitation for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to participate in an event there and to arrest him if he travels to the country . Al-Bashir is scheduled to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and other government officials in China at the end of June. China is not [...]
International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Friday issued a public notice for victims of violence in the Ivory Coast to give statements and advise if the ICC should proceed with a formal investigation. Victims have 30 days to file a statement. The statement says Moreno-Ocampo will make an investigation request “shortly,” although [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed the “Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity” resolution with a vote of 23-19 and 3 abstentions on Friday. The resolution is the first to call for an end to sexuality discrimination worldwide and to recognize it as a “priority” for the UN. Although the resolution is “binding” [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Friday decided to extend a mandate instructing a panel to investigate human rights abuses in Libya. The council, without voting, adopted a resolution that orders the investigation of abuses in Libya to continue through the end of the year. The three-person commission appointed to investigate violence in Libya [...]
US Attorney General Eric Holder Thursday defended his plans to prosecute terror suspects in federal civilian courts, responding to harsh criticism from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging two Iraqi-born terror suspects in Kentucky be sent to the Guantanamo Bay military detention facility. Holder gave an address at the American Constitution Society national convention [...]
The governments of Mexico and several other countries, along with the Anti-Defamation League filed amicus briefs on Thursday in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) class action lawsuit against Georgia’s new immigration law . Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru all filed briefs in support of [...]
